Winter Storm to Strike New York to Washington Later Today

People walk through Prospect Park during a snow storm on December 14, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Snow and ice will probably coat the
East Coast from Washington to New York later today, snarling
rail and road traffic for commuters tomorrow and disrupting air
travel throughout the region.

New York City is under a winter weather advisory and may
get as much as six inches (15 centimeters) of snow by tomorrow,
with Philadelphia picking up 6 to 8 inches, and Baltimore and
Washington as much as 10 inches atop a coating of ice, according
to the National Weather Service.

“It doesn’t look as bad for New York as it did a day or
two ago,” said Joey Picca, a weather service meteorologist in
Upton, New York. “It still doesn’t look like a good commute
Monday morning.”

The storm is forecast to bring ice to Dallas and snow from
Kansas City, Missouri, to Indianapolis before arriving on the
East Coast later today. Nationwide, 3,103 flights are already
canceled through tomorrow as of 3 p.m. New York time today, said
FlightAware, a Houston-based airline tracking service.

The majority of trips scrubbed today were out of
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare
International Airport, the company said.

“Monday morning’s commute will be particularly
difficult,” the weather service said in a winter storm watch
issued last night covering an area from southern New Jersey to
eastern Pennsylvania.

The forecast may change as the day goes on, said Carl
Erickson, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State
College, Pennsylvania.

‘Fluid Situation’

“It is still a fluid situation,” Erickson said.

Erickson said he believes the area from just north of
Washington through Wilmington, Delaware, to Philadelphia may
bear the brunt of the storm. As much as 12 inches of snow could
fall in that area, which is more than current weather service
forecasts show.

“From Washington to Philadelphia, right between those two
cities is where you will be closer to a foot,” he said by
telephone.

The U.S. House of Representatives delayed votes scheduled
for tomorrow until March 4, according to an e-mail sent from the
office of the majority leader.

Train Schedules

Amtrak said it will operate a modified snow schedule
tomorrow, which will result in fewer trains available on Acela
Express and Northeast regional service. New Jersey Transit said
it plans to offer regular weekday service tomorrow, and warned
of cancellations and delays because of the weather.

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., owner of New Jersey’s
largest utility, was arranging for tree trimmers and other
contractors to supplement its own repair crews, the company said
in a statement.

Erickson said the storm is expected to move straight across
the U.S. without any swing to the northeast when it hits the
Atlantic, which will spare Boston and much of New England from
heavy snow.

“It isn’t one of your classic winter storms,” he said.
“It isn’t even a strong storm.”

Northern Edge

Boston is forecast to get as much as two inches of snow
because it will be on the northern edge, said Frank Nocera, a
weather service meteorologist in Taunton, Massachusetts. Cape
Cod and southern New England may get as much as four inches.

Chicago, also on the northern fringe, may receive some snow
showers tomorrow, according to the weather service.

To the south, the area from Dallas through Little Rock,
Arkansas, to Memphis was expected to pick up a coating of ice,
Erickson said.

The weather service issued winter storm warnings, watches
and advisories from New Mexico to New Jersey, meaning snow and
ice were possible in those areas.

Ice storm warnings were posted for parts of Kansas,
Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky,
Tennessee and Mississippi, alerting people that power outages
might happen and travel may become impossible on untreated
roads.